MENASHA - After more than a dozen years at the helm, Goodwill Industries of North Central Wisconsin is looking to hand off its community garden program to new leadership.

Budget considerations led to Goodwill's decision to stop running the program — known as "Goodwill Grows" — on Dec. 31. The organization hopes another agency will step in to oversee the gardens in Appleton, Neenah and Menasha.

"We really want to make this work for whoever takes over the program," said Dan Flannery, vice president of community relations at Goodwill NCW. "We gave ourselves time to have discussions and try and find a new home for gardeners, and for the (gardens') property owners themselves, if they were interested in continuing."

The program has been successful and has made a difference in many lives, he said.

Goodwill officials believe another organization will take over the program, as Goodwill did in 2004 at the request of the University of Wisconsin-Extension.

The decision doesn't affect the rest of this year, but Goodwill won't hold registration for next year's growing season.

Goodwill has contacted other community agencies to get a sense of interest in taking over the program. Goodwill Grows includes eight community gardens and one market garden, which is a collaboration with Appleton and Outagamie County.

If no other agency wants to operate the entire program, the gardens' futures could diverge, according to Flannery:

St. Therese, Covenant and Hope gardens will be run by the property owners, who decide when to start running their own programs.

The property owner for the Clearwater garden has given approval to continue the garden under volunteer leadership.

The Goodwill garden at 1800 Appleton Road can continue.

The future of UW-Fox, Brewster Street and GV/Casaloma community gardens remains to be seen.

Flannery was not sure what would happen with Southpoint Market Garden.

He said the program is part of an effort aimed at food sustainability and hunger relief.

"If there's a way that people can grow their own food, cut down on expenses, create skills of their own, frankly, that's a really good thing and we'd love to see that continue at some level throughout the Fox Cities," Flannery said.

More than 700 gardeners were served in 2017 and more than 600 last year, according to Flannery.

A part-time garden coordinator's position is being eliminated at the end of the year when the program ends, he said.